Someone New
by Cster
Summary: Tea has had a traumatic experience in her life. Can Seto Kaiba help her or will he make it worse? Read to find out.
1. Losing a Friend

A/N: This is an idea for a story I had. Hope you enjoy.

Seto Kaiba glared at the sky. It looked like rain, quite typical considering this was the only the day he chose to walk to work instead of taking the limo. He was deep in thought. _How did Yugi defeat me again? I worked so hard. Everything went according to plan._ The attractive now number two duelist mentally shook his head. He ran through the scenarios in his mind for possibly the millionth time.

Yugi was a better duelist with more skill. Impossible! Kaiba nearly snarled; he himself had been dueling a lot longer than Yugi. The CEO also knew that he had better cards than the pipsqueak so this option was officially void.

Yugi had a more noble reason for dueling. Normally, Seto Kaiba would have thrown this idea away like all of the rest. He was an analytical man, not easily given to ridiculous notions that would have no bearing, like friendship. But today is different. The blue eyed man could not get the events of that morning out of his mind.

Flashback

"Seto, can I go see Yugi, Joey, Tea, and Tristan at the store? I know they're not your favorite people, but there's talk of a mini-tournament for fun. Please, can I go?" Mokuba even used the puppy dog eyes on his older brother. This tried and true technique usually worked 3 out of 4 times. Only when Kaiba was really concentrating did he ignore his beloved younger brother.

Seto Kaiba looked up from the stock market graph displayed across the screen of his business laptop. "No." He simply said, turning his head down to get back to work. Mokuba respected his older brother. Whenever Kaiba told Mokuba no, Mokuba tended to bow out gracefully and end the matter.

This argument was different, apparently. "Seto, why not?" Mokuba persisted.

"Because I said so." Kaiba answered coldly though he was thinking of something more along the lines of fraternizing with the enemy. Mokuba turned to leave, then looked back with a nasty expression.

"You just don't want me to go be with my friends because you have a grudge against Yugi, right?"

"Obviously that's part of the reason." Kaiba was irritated now. This little conversation was getting out of hand.

Mokuba suddenly went from really angry to whimpering. "Seto, I miss you." Tears began to fall.

Kaiba, unsure of what to do, decided to handle the situation logically. "Mokuba, what are you talking about? I'm right here and I've never left."

"Oh yes you have. Ever since our stepfather adopted us you've changed. He made you cold and hateful just like him. No one but me loves you and I don't even know if you love me anymore." Mokuba looked absolutely pathetic at this point.

"That's a lie and you know it." Kaiba had begun to raise his voice.

"Then why don't you smile anymore or have fun or laugh? Seto is gone, dead. Kaiba is all that remains." Kaiba's heart stopped. This is exactly what Gozoburo had said to him repeatedly; that little cheerleader Tea Gardner had also said something along the same lines.

He did not even try to stop Mokuba as he walked pathetically upstairs to his room.

Flashback end

Seto Kaiba blamed his borderline obsession with work and power on a combination of Yugi Moutou and Gozoburo Kaiba. He works hard to defeat Gozoburo's ghost in the business world; he tries and fails numerous times to beat Yugi's remarkable power in the dueling world. Thus, he had opted to go for a walk in an attempt to clear his head.

He looks up, surprised at how far he'd managed to walk in such a short amount of time. Sitting on a bench, looking forlorn is Tea Gardner. He blinks a few times to ensure he is awake. Where's the rest of the geek squad? He wonders automatically.

He looks back at the pathway to head back to the Kaiba Mansion, but his resolve is gone. Now his curiosity is piqued. The Yugi crew is never separated and when they are it is never good. But he didn't care Let the friendship losers handle their own problems. Mokuba's face then popped into his head; screw this.

Convincing himself that he was only going over to Gardner to satisfy his curiosity, he approaches her.

Tea looks up, her eyes a bit unfocused to the tears she had shed previously. No, what's he doing here! She turns her eyes back down, trying to ignore the impossible to ignore duelist. She almost had a heart attack when he sat down right beside her. Breathe Tea, breathe. She reminded herself.

"Hey." She greeted, still attempting to be friendly in her pain.

Kaiba did not look at her and did not respond.

She rolled her eyes. Of course, she thought, this has something to do with dueling and Yugi. Tea Gardner was not a girl fit for silence. She was not used to it and, quite frankly, long gaps in communication with others bothered her to no end.

But from what she knew of Kaiba, interrupting him was a bad idea. She had seen what he was capable of: hurting Yugi's grandfather, causing her crush Yami intense pain, almost killing himself at Duelist Kingdom, but she knew the love and care he showed his brother. Maybe-

"Gardner." Kaiba said rudely. Tea looked abashed. She sweatdropped inwardly. He sits beside me so it looks like he wants to talk and now he's all rude, typical Kaiba.

"Yes." Tea answered politlely.

"Where are your other loser friends?" This question, despite its demeaning quality, floored her. Kaiba? Asking a question like he cared?

"It's not that I care about you. I need to speak with Yugi about duel monsters, something a cheerleader like you wouldn't understand." Kaiba still did not look at her and this bothered her.

"For your information, Kaiba." Tea spoke his name with intense dislike. "My so called friends, excluding Yugi, blew me off for some bimbo to hang around with, not that it's any of your arrogance's business."

"They replaced you. Idiots." Kaiba said looking at her evasively.

Tea stood up ready to punch him in the face when she realized that his last comment was not an insult. "Why do you say that?"

Kaiba scoffed at her, "Isn't it obvious, no one's better at making annoying friendship speeches or psyching the opponent out with all that cheering than you Gardner."

Gleaning the complimentary statement out of the myriad of insults, Tea said, "For once, Kaiba, thanks."

Kaiba smirked. "Don't get used to it. Kindly relay the message to Yugi."

Tea nodded stupidly as Kaiba stood up, walking away his trenchcoat flaring.

Not to self, always be prepared for something unexpected like that to happen. Tea walked home not long after and called Yugi.

Yugi's grandpa answered, "Hey Tea, I'll go get him. Yugi!"

"Who is it grandpa?" Yugi surely didn't want to talk to any of his guy pals right now, if ever.

"Tea, son, now don't keep her waiting. That's rude." Grandpa walked off laughing to himself about teenagers these days.

"Hey Tea, what's up? Can you believe what the guys did?" This was about as angry as Yugi Moutou had ever sounded.

"A lot actually, Yugi. And yeah I thought they were better than that. Anyways, you'll never guess who I talked to in the park." Tea wasn't so sad anymore, as odd as it was to say, conversation with Kaiba had improved her mood for once.

She relayed the whole story to Yugi whose interest she immediately caught, especially about the compliment and the tournament bit.

"Did he say where the tournament would be held?" Yugi could not wait to duel again.

"No, but he wants you to be preparing your deck."

"Cool, I'll talk to you later, Tea. Customers are coming in."

"Bye" Tea answered back after she heard the familiar tinkling of the Turtle Game Shop's bell and before she heard Yugi click to hang up the phone.

A/N: Hey everyone! I'm a bit new at writing for the Yugioh characters. Let me know if there's something you loved or hated about my story, but please do it respectfully. Chapter 2 will be up as soon as I get a few reviews.


	2. He's Not Totally Heartless?

A/N: I'm going to go ahead and put these two or three, ever how it pans out up together.

Disclaimer: I do not and will probably never own Yugioh.

A few days later, Tea was shopping around Domino. She was still deeply upset by the guys' betrayal. _We've been best friends forever; did the friendship circle we drew right when we first met mean nothing to them?_ This thought had been swimming in her head for quite sometime; today, however, she was going to try to ignore it.

Though not a depressed person, Tea had been staying home quite a lot lately. Her senior year was over and Yugi was working in the game shop every day. Finally, her mother, Miya Gardner, had put her foot down. She had told her only child to stop moping around the house and go pick up some things for her from the store. Tea had complied, not wanting to face her mother's wrath.

Placing apples, rice, and dog food in her cart, Tea looked up to spy a poster on the wall. It took up almost the entire wall and boasted Seto Kaiba's face, promoting the tournament, no less. Without meaning to, she noticed the date. It was June 15, a few weeks away.

Seeing the poster made Tea think more about their conversation a few days ago. She sighed; there was more to her unhappiness than she had shared with the cold CEO. Tea had always wanted to be a dancer, but dancing schools were expensive. Her parents both only had middle income jobs. They had both said they would help her any way they could, but she did not want to burden them in this way. Tea herself had been searching for jobs, but none had panned out. The burger joint she used to frequent had gone under new management and they had let her go to cut expenses, whatever that meant.

She realized she was done with her shopping so she began making her way to the check out counter. That was when she heard it. The obnoxious laughter of Chou Mirasaki, Jou, and Honda reverberated throughout the store. Remaining silent, Tea hoped with all her might that they would keep on walking, ignoring her. Tea realized with a shudder that Chou had noticed her. Instead of merely making fun of her from a distance, the trio stalked right up to her as she was standing in line. "If it isn't Teeea Gartner," Chou said, awfully mispronouncing Tea's name with her snobby high pitched voice. The three burst into insulting laughter.

Tea hadn't cried since her and Kaiba's talk and she sure as anything wasn't going to cry in front of them. Turning her face up to them, she spoke more confidently than she honestly felt. "Yes, hello Chou, Honda, Jounaichi."

"Excuse me, but are you trying to be a smart ass?" Chou asked kicking at Tea's cart. Tea shook her head, becoming more and more upset by the minute. The line was still long and no one else was around her end. Honda easily joined in Chou's taunting by "accidentally" dropping some of Tea's groceries on the floor. "Sorry, my hand slipped." Honda high fived Chou and went to high five Jou, but Jou was looking down.

"What's the matter buddy? Still feeling something for our old friend?" Honda asked it in such a way that Jou was startled. He shook his head quickly half heartedly high fiving Honda. Jou's emotions, however, were heating up. _This isn't fun for me anymore man. Tea was always nothing, but nice to us. Chou's way better than her, but we shouldn't be total dicks to Tea._ Jou knew how it felt to be ostracized though so he didn't speak up.

Picking up her groceries, Tea was almost up to the check out counter, to her relief. Sadly, as she was standing up she bumped Chou.

"What the hell? Honda asked trying to egg the hotheaded Chou on.

Grabbing her by the jacket, Chou got in Tea's face. "Apologize to me right now and NEVER touch me again, got it?"

Tea was tired of this bullying so she pulled away from Chou, placing her items on the counter.

"Listen here trash, nobody ignores my orders." Chou slapped Tea hard, making her hit her arm on the cart and fall to the floor.

Honda moved to hit her when the manager came up. "You punks better leave before I get you in trouble for assault and battery."

The three left, but not without Chou giving Tea a nasty promising glare of "I'll be back".

The manager helped Tea up and Tea gladly left the store.

Outside, she was almost to her car when she heard the voice she hated again. "Now you got be banned from One-Stop Shop. Now I get nasty." Chou snatched Tea around, pushing her at Honda.

This time Tea was truly scared and angry. She pushed at Honda,"Just leave me alone."

"Wrong response." Honda punched her square in the nose. Tea fell back against the pavement.

Jou finally spoke up, grabbing Honda by the arm, "Bro, what are you doin'? She could be dead." Jou shook him a little. "The police could get find out."

Honda smirked, "if we destroy the evidence no one has to know." He moved towards Tea who was knocked unconscious on the pavement.

Jou looked back at Tea, " Screw this man, I'm leaving." Chou yelled at him, "And where do you think you're going?"

"I like you Chou and Honda's my bud, but I didn't sign up for this." Jou walked off in the direction of his apartment.

"Whatever, always knew he was a wuss." Chou commented.

They turned back towards Tea.

The blonde haired, heavily made up Chou lifted her Versace heel to bash into Tea when someone's fist took her by surprise.

A voice was the only thing the evil girl heard before blacking out, "It's against my morals to hit ladies, but judging by your behavior you don't fall into that category."

Honda raised his fists to fight, but Tea's rescuer successfully roundhouse-kicked Honda. This caused him to hit his head, hard, on Tea's car. He, too, was down for the count.

Kaiba glared fiercely at the scene. What did she do to deserve this? Sure, she was irritating and opinionated, but no one should be beaten up like this. He called 911 for the bimbo and dog boy's friend, put Tea's bags in his car, and then carried her to his car also. He would make arrangements for someone to bring her car later. While he was carrying the brunette, he noticed how weak and fragile she looked in this state. Tear streaks were on her face, blood was everywhere. Normally not one to be moved by pathetic emotions, Kaiba felt a twinge of something in his chest.

Squelching it, he laid her gently on the seat and drove her to the mansion. There were doctors there who could take care of her while he explained to her parents what had happened.

After a quick examination, the doctors said that Tea would be fine as long as she rested and there were no repeat occurrences. Unsure as to why, Kaiba was relieved. It's because I won't have a lawsuit on my hands, he told himself.

He phoned the Gardner residence; Tea's mother picking up after the second ring. "Hello, she sounded frantic."

"Good evening, Mrs. Gardner. This is Seto Kaiba. Your daughter is here at my mansion."

"Is she alright? What's she doing there?"

"She's fine now. I witnessed her being beaten up in the parking lot, so I handled the situation." Kaiba was as cool and collected as ever.

"If it is alright with you, Mr. Kaiba, her father and I will be over to pick her up a bit later." Miya was relieved her daughter was okay.

"The doctor informed me that due to her injuries she shouldn't be moved for a few days, but you are welcome to come see her."

"Thank you, so much." Miya sounded teary eyed.

Kaiba hung up. He might as well check on Gardner.

A/N: Okay, so there's obviously going to be TeaXKaiba later. The conflicts he is having with his emotions right now are purely friendship based because he has never really had friends. I promise all chapters will not be this heated or bad for Tea and Chou will not be too frequent of a character, but this sets the stage for something that comes later so it is necessary. 


	3. An Unfortunate RunIn

A/N: I was pleasantly surprised by the positive feedback I have received so quickly. I will respond to every signed review and acknowledge the anonymous ones on here. Don't be shy, if you see something you like or don't like in my story, just let me know.

Thanks to Jenny.

Disclaimer: I do…not own Yugioh.

Tea woke up feeling dazed. _Ugh, my aching head_. She shifted a bit on her pillow, sinking comfortable into its feathery texture. _Feathers? My pillow at home is not nearly as comfortable_. She tried to sit up, but failed because of the splitting pain in her head and limbs.

The events of the previous day cut into her thoughts like a knife into a ham. Everyone's favorite blonde and her two ex friends had beaten the crap out of her after shopping. Her mother would be so worried._ I have to call her as soon as I can._

Then, she remembered why she was where she was, in a room with expensive furnishings and beautiful tastes. Kaiba saved me. Weird. Tea would have mulled her thoughts over more, but someone was standing in the doorway.

The sunlight glinted ethereally off of Kaiba's silver trenchcoat, accentuating his already flawless appearance. Tea hated to admit it, but he really was gorgeous, no matter how cold and heartless he was. But beauty did not make a person. She above all people knew that.

Noticing she was awake, Kaiba entered, "Feeling better?"

He asked as if he could not care less. Tea sighed inwardly, of course one good deed hadn't erased a lifetime of heartlessness.

She managed a wry smile, despite her headache, and responded in turn, "Much better, thanks. If you don't mind, I need to phone my mother and father."

"I have already taken care of that. They'll be by later to visit you." Kaiba's tone remained the same as he turned to exit the room.

"Kaiba, wait." Tea called feeling her head pound again. He didn't turn, but he stopped to show he had acknowledged Tea. "I just wanted to thank you for saving me. It was not your place and I know I owe you greatly for the trouble."

Kaiba stared at her, honestly a bit shocked by her words, but it did not register on his face even though he was turned away from her anyway. "Hn," and continued walking.

Seriously? I try to be nice to him and hn is all I get? What does that even mean? Tea was frustrated by Kaiba's, well characteristic, attitude, but her injuries caused her to lie back down. She did not go back to sleep, however, Tea milled over the past events. Even though he gave her the cold shoulder, Kaiba had been occupying her thoughts often as of late. Since their talk on the bench, Tea's opinion of him, once cemented as fully negative, was now shapeable.

He had come a long way since Death T when he had tried to kill Tea and her friends. But then again, she thought bitterly, so had Honda and Jou. Kaiba had saved Yugi, herself, and the others since then, not being quite friendly in his words, but his actions conveyed a different meaning.

Tea didn't know very much about Kaiba's past, but she could tell by his actions that something deep had wounded him. He didn't trust people easily and she realized this. However, she had always yelled at him and been rude to him because he insulted her friends. That was one matter Tea never wavered on. Two of those people she would have fought tooth and nail for had now betrayed her, guess friendships aren't always forever.

Mentally shaking herself out of this reverie, Tea closed her eyes, only to open them a few seconds later to a soft voice.

"Knock, knock," Mokuba quietly called, "are you awake Tea?"

Tea smiled, "yeah Mokuba come on in."

He sat on the chair nearest her bed. She noticed a jacket draped over the back of the chair. She motioned towards it, "Did you leave this in here?"

Mokuba shook his head, "No that's actually my brother's." He smiled at Tea after saying that.

Tea allowed for this fact to sink in. She didn't say anything else though.

Taking in her expression, the younger Kaiba spoke up, "You know, Seto's not as bad as you all think he is." His voice rose a bit. "He came in here and sat with you most of the night, Tea." He had quietened down towards the end.

"No, that's not what I was thinking, Mokuba. It just surprises me because he only acts like he cares about you." Tea attempted to placate the boy. Of course he would defend Kaiba, that's all the poor boy has.

"Sorry Tea, I just hate it when people say things about him and don't really know him like I know went through a lot as a child, even more than me. He really was worried about you though, that wasn't an exaggeration."

The two talked easily for quite a while when Mokuba asked suddenly. "Who attacked you? You are one of the nicest people I know; it must have been some random mugger, right?"

The boy's innocence made her smile; the truth of the matter brought on a grimace, however. "I'm afraid not. A girl from my school named Chou and my old friends Jou and Honda were the ones who jumped me."

The black haired boy's eyes grew as wide as saucers. "That's terrible! Did you tell the police? What if they try to hurt you again?" He was panicking.

Tea was flattered by his sincere concern. "I haven't told the police yet. I want this whole situation to blow over, but I am scared they will try again. You shouldn't worry, though, Mokuba, I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself."

"Uh uh," Mokuba shook his head decisively. "That's not going to work, but," a smile lit up his whole face, "Seto has bodyguards who are 'impeccably' good."

At this, Tea frowned. "I'm already imposing on your brother enough as it is. There's no way, he's getting goons to watch me too."

"Tea, Tea, Tea, just give me a few minutes, I'll go talk to Seto." Mokuba ran off before Tea could stop him.

_This is a disaster_ Tea thought. _Oh well, at least I'll get some protection from that cruel girl and crew. And maybe spend some time with the owner of the house. Wait, what? _

Tea shook her head. _These injuries must really be getting to me._

A/N: I'm updating quickly because I'm really enjoying writing this story. 


	4. Interacting with the Kaiba

A/N: I am astounded at how many reviews and encouraging comments I have received in regards to this story. Here's an update, sorry for the long gap.

Instead of worrying about the outcome of the younger Kaiba and his brother's discussion, Tea decided to amuse herself by watching television. She was not normally a lazy person, but with her injuries and current lack of company she was left with few other options. Besides, she smiled to herself, his tv is totally state of the art.

She rested her head gently on the pillow while beginning to flick through the channels. Too, scientific. Too, mushy gushy. Too, sports. Tea sighed out loud as each possible show failed to catch her interest.

Just when she was about to give up on it and go back to sleep, someone began to crack open the door.

"Yes," she answered more respectfully than she felt. _My gosh, manners? Whoever it is just opens it without knocking._

The intruder stepped into the field of her vision. "Mind if I sit." Kaiba said the usual query in a tone which sounded much more like a statement than a request. He promptly pulled a chair out from the far wall and sat down. The chair was now within comfortable distance of Tea's current bed. Tea thought, trying to make the best of a not so . At least he's respecting my personal space ideal situation.

"No not at all." Tea flashed a genuine smile, surprisingly. His company is better than none at all. Besides, after Mokuba's speech, maybe there is more to everyone's favorite egotist than money and duel monsters.

Jou would have disagreed, Tea knew, but at this point Kaiba was being way more of a friend, though she was 100 percent sure he would not use that particular word, than Jou was. Despite all her former friends had done, Tea still wished there could be closure and maybe a bit of reconciliation.

She brought her attention back to Kaiba before he could start embarrassing her by waving his hand in front of her face or calling her a moron. This thought brought a smile to Tea's face; that's more like the way I keep expecting him to behave.

"I wanted to let you know, Kaiba looked at her seriously, that my bodyguards will accompany you when you are well enough to leave the manor. This is for the sole purpose of your protection, therefore, I expect you to comply."

Tea coughed slightly, embarrassed, "Thank you Kaiba, but this is really very unnecessary. I'll have Yugi, my other friends, and my family around so-"

Not bothering to look at her this time, Kaiba ran a hand through his chestnut colored hair, "I have spoken. You will not dispute this. Mokuba tried to change my mind earlier and failed, you have no chance at affecting my decision." He got up to leave.

"Wait," Tea called.

Kaiba stopped at the threshold of the room, not turning around, but Tea knew he was listening.

"Would you mind staying here for a while? If you're too busy, I understand completely." Tea couldn't even grasp why she wanted him to stay; she almost hoped he would be rude and say no.

Sighing aloud, Kaiba turned around, returning to the chair. Neither he nor Tea said a word for what was probably only a few seconds, but what felt like minutes.

"Look Gardner, I'm a very busy man, so tell me what you need before I tire of this." Kaiba looked annoyed. But Tea also noticed his bloodshot eyes.

She felt a twinge of concern for him, but that was pushed to the back of her mind momentarily. "For your information, you jerk, I only wanted some company. I guess that was too much to ask for from you." Geez, where did that energy burst come from? Her injuries were still hurting, but the pain medication had worked wonders.

Kaiba looked like he wanted to slap her, at least verbally if not physically, so Tea braced for the onslaught that never came. When Kaiba spoke again, it almost sounded like a different person because of his tone.

"If that's all you wanted, you should have said so to start with." He said it softly almost as if he cared.

Tea mentally sweatdropped. There's no way he cares at all; saving me was just his duty so he wouldn't have murder on his hands. Tea was ignoring minor details because she was trying to distance herself so she wouldn't be hurt when Kaiba stopped this nice façade, returning to his usual cold self.

She quickly decided to take advantage of the current situation. She began talking to him as if he were Yugi or another close friend. How many people got to say they carried on a conversation with Seto Kaiba without him seriously degrading or insulting them?

The conversation flowed well for both of them. Each one adding details, contributing to the conversation and enjoying themselves.

Tea then made a blunder. She brought up the topic of duel monsters, knowing he had much to say on that matter. Everything was fine until Kaiba made a remark about him being the champion of duel monsters; she, of course, corrected him saying Yugi was champion, not meaning any harm.

Kaiba didn't say anything at first which caused her to think everything was fine, until she looked at his face. His face itself was expressionless, nothing seemed amiss there, but his eyes were clouded in what looked to Tea like anger, resentment, jealousy, and was that pain?

She wanted to put her hand on his shoulder to get his attention, but figured he would hate that. "Kaiba," she called.

He looked at her coldly. "My mistake. He is champion now; it's hard when I was so used to it being me." His voice got softer at the end.

He told her he had work to do and then left. Tea felt horrible; me and my big mouth.

Hopefully, I'll have a chance to fix this. So much for getting close to him.

A/N: I have one question for my readers. Do you prefer English or Japanese names? I can do either, so please let me know. I think, if I'm not mistaken, I used Japanese for everyone except Tea. I don't know why, honestly. Feedback is welcome : ]


	5. Accepted

A/N: I know it's been a year, but other fandoms and real life have distracted me. Anyways, I'm back now, just harass me when you want me to update xD

The next few days passed rather uneventfully. Tea sat in her room practicing exercises on the bed so that her muscles wouldn't atrophy and speaking to the servants whenever they came to bring her food. She slept often, growing tired of the same television programs day after day after day. Thinking Kaiba genuinely hated her and there was no fixing the results of their spat, Tea decided to summon Mokuba to her room and see if it was alright for her to leave.

Her parents called every day and had even visited a few times, despite the distance from their home. Tea hadn't heard about the whereabouts of her assailants and frankly, didn't really care. She wanted to call Yugi and ask if he had ever heard from Honda or Jounouchi, but was honestly scared to hear what was going on with her ex-friends. Just then Tea jumped because the phone was ringing.

"Hello?" She waited eagerly and apprehensively for the voice at the other end.

"Hey Tea, it's me Yugi. Are you feeling better? Jounouchi and I would like to come visit you so that he can apologize for what happened. What's life with Kaiba like?"

She broke out into a wide grin, but was startled that Yugi had contacted and made up with Jounouchi. "I'm almost well enough to leave I think; Mokuba should be coming to my room in a few minutes to talk to me about it. I don't know if that's such a good idea, Yugi."

"That's great!," Tea could hear the smile in her best friend's voice, "Jounouchi insists; I swear it will be okay. And you never answered my question, Tea."

Nervously, Tea agreed. "Well, you know Kaiba is Kaiba, Yugi. Chances are he won't change, ever." She frowned slightly because she had wholeheartedly thought that her kind spirit would make an impression on the stoic businessman.

"Don't give up, Tea. Everyone has good inside of them, even Kaiba." Yugi went on speaking, but a knock on the door interrupted their conversation.

"Sorry Yugi, someone's at the door, probably Mokuba. Thanks for calling, talk to you later to give you a time to visit!" Tea slipped the phone into the receiver.

"Come in." Tea beckoned, slightly situating herself more comfortably on the bed.

Kaiba walked in wordlessly and sat down on the end of the bed. Tea was shocked to say the very least. "Um, Kaiba. Hi." Tea really didn't know what else to say and was hesitant to bring up an apology because she didn't want to chance angering him.

"Listen Tea, I would like to apologize for my behavior these past few days. This isn't an easy thing for me to do, so don't expect me to say it again." He sounded gruffer near the end of his apology.

_Past few days? What does he even mean_? "Actually, I'd like to apologize for making that comment. No wonder you didn't want to talk to me. I knew it was a sore subject of conversation and still brought it up." Tea looked up to make eye contact, but decided to look away because she blushed at the intensity of his gaze.

"No," Kaiba said gently touching her arm to make her look at him, "I wasn't not visiting you because I was angry, I was simply busy with company business. It's still not a good excuse though."

Tea was speechless and tried and failed not to blush or stare at his hand on her arm. The behavior was just so unlike Kaiba that she couldn't help but react weirdly.

"As soon as you can walk, which should be soon, I'll take you out to the mansion garden, my treat." Kaiba continued.

Tea smiled widely causing Kaiba's heart to quicken. "Thank you, but as soon as I can walk, my parents wanted me to return home."

Kaiba recovered quickly. "Of course, I'll be taking you home to them tomorrow and picking you up for our little excursion at the end of the week."

He stood up, finding it hard not to kiss her, _What?. _That little thought alone nearly derailed his entire thought process of needing to get back to work. "I have work to do; Mokuba will be along later." He turned to look at Tea before closing her door, giving her a small smile.

She returned it and laid back on the bed to rest after he was gone. _Was I imagining that or was he actually being nice and did he invite me somewhere? And the plot thickens, _she thought half jokingly to herself as she tried not to fall asleep while waiting for Mokuba.

A/N: I have a loose idea of where I want this story to go, but any and all suggestions are welcome.


	6. Finding Out Who Your Friends Aren't?

A/N: I'm pleased at all of the positive feedback and thanks to ** for the suggestions. Most of the stuff you said I'm already planning out somewhere along the line; I don't want to get them together too fast, but I also don't want to drag it out. Here's the next chapter!

Disclaimer: ! hohiguY nwo t'nod I *hold it up to a mirror*

"Hey Anzu!" Mokuba rushed into the room and happily hugged his friend. Tea hugged him back, pleased that this act no longer hurt her physically.

"It's great to see you kid," Anzu welcomed the company of someone more childish and talkative than Kaiba, despite his attractiveness. Anzu inwardly sweatdropped. These ideas are getting more and more ridiculous.

The younger Kaiba waved his hand in front of Tea's face, "You zoned out there for a minute. Everything okay?" Mokuba looked puzzled, not a clue as to what was on Tea's mind.

She laughed lightly; "I'm fine, really. Just thinking that's all."

The two proceeded to chat amiably for a while. "And Yugi and Jounouchi are coming over later to speak with me." Anzu stated, her mood dampened considerably.

Mokuba's expression darkened. "Why's he bringing that jerk? He knows what he and the others did to you and that's not right."

Anzu placed a hand calmingly on Mokuba's shoulder. "It will be okay; I trust Yugi's judgment. He would never put me in harm's way."

Mokuba lightened up, "I trust Yugi's judgment just fine. But if that dog tries anything, my big brother will put him in his place."

The pretty blue eyed girl bit back a laugh. She had always thought Kaiba's comparison of Jounouchi to a dog was hilarious, despite the meanness behind it, and had some truth to it. The underdog comparison was spot on and he was fiercely loyal also. _Well had been_, the girl thought. She needed to be more positive; she would be face to face with the blond in a few hours, too little time for her to mentally prepare she thought inwardly.

After Mokuba exited her room, Anzu decided to watch a movie. Maybe she would actually be able to divert her attention, keep her nerves intact at least. She stumbled upon a Korean drama, 100 Days with Mr. Arrogant. The girl deemed it interesting enough to watch.

The movie was nearly over when she looked at the clock near her bed. _Hers?_ She was only staying here temporarily, she reminded herself. This thought coupled with the time caused her to nervousness to increase tenfold. It didn't help that the movie had reminded her a little of Kaiba. Rich assholes and whatnot.

A knock on the door shattered her thoughts of her host. "Come in," Anzu called, time to face the music.

"Anzu!" Yugi called happily and worriedly enveloped her in a gentle hug. When he pulled away, the small teen asked her if his hug had hurt her. The girl had simply giggled; "I'm almost completely well now, Yugi. Kaiba said I can go home whenever I feel up to it." She wasn't sure why thoughts of going home bothered her.

"That's great." Her best friend's smile was infectious. However, she couldn't overlook the much taller, quieter man standing in the doorway. "He can come in, you know." She wasn't overly excited about this encounter, but she definitely wanted to confront it. Though normally a lighthearted morale booster for her friends, Anzu was not an idiot, nor was she weak. She hated it when people ran from their problems.

Yugi looked up, meeting Jounouchi's eyes. He walked in stiffly, standing a good two feet away from Anzu. "Hey Anzu."

Anzu looked at the teenager warily. "Jounouchi." He wouldn't even meet her eyes, not that she was complaining in all honesty.

"Go on," Yugi looked almost angry as he nudged Jounouchi's arm quite roughly. "Look Anzu! I'm sorry for everything. I didn't know they were going to beat you up, honest. And that bitch, oh God how I hate her. I'll do anything to make it up to you. I don't know if Tristan has come to his senses yet, but she's only using him."

Anzu looked up, piercing blue meeting honey colored eyes, "I don't know if you can, Jounouchi. If you had stopped her, I would have forgiven you completely." He opened his mouth to interrupt her.

"Shut up!" Anzu all but shrieked, her heart was beating extremely fast due to her anger, making her chest injuries hurt again. She was beyond pissed, however, and her health was not her greatest concern. "You didn't do anything! You watched a girl you barely know and your best friend beat me almost to death! That's hard to forgive." She winced a bit at her pain, but not noticeably enough.

Yugi looked nervously between his two friends, wanting to stop the angry discussion, but wanting to make sure Anzu got in everything she wanted to say.

Jounouchi was nearly crying, despite his intense anger at her for not forgiving him, "Please Anzu! Just forgive me. It won't happen again; things can go back to the way they were before. Besides, I bet you're sick of that Kaiba bastard by now anyway."

Anzu, ignoring her agony, stood up from the bed. "I'm not your little doll to jerk around however you please! If you're honestly trying to apologize, you are not doing a very good job Katsuya Jounouchi! You come in here insulting the person responsible for me still being alive, while you didn't do a damn thing. I may forgive you Jounouchi, but it won't be today."

Yugi had been tugging at Jounouchi's shoulder trying to convince Jounouchi to leave. He shrugged the smaller boy off; "Damn it, Anzu!" He stepped closer to the girl who was breathing heavily and clutching her chest.

"Just forgive me! People make mistakes."

"Ugh…" Anzu muttered, her chest hurting badly and vision blurring. Her eyes slipped closed as she slipped out of confidence, but instead of smacking against the floor, strong arms caught her.

Kaiba had been waiting outside of the room ever since he had heard Anzu yell; regardless of their little disagreements, he cared about her safety. He had waited to let her handle this confrontation against his better judgment, but had stepped in when he saw what was happening.

"Get the hell out! Both of you." Kaiba looked positively livid.

Yugi didn't need to be told twice and practically pushed Jounouchi out of the door. "Is she okay?" He asked worriedly.

"Mutou, you caused her undue stress. Get out of my sight." Kaiba was acting as if he would punch Yugi, so the spiky haired duelist followed Jounouchi out the door.

Kaiba didn't even try to hide the worry on his face. He placed his fingers to Anzu's neck to check her pulse. It was fast and he could feed her heart beating against his chest as he held her. Its erratic, almost uneven beating bothered him as well as the blood that was seeping from her bandages. He was dialing his personal doctor within seconds. "Get in here. It's urgent."

For some reason Kaiba could not fathom, his own heart had sped up when he saw her fall to the floor. Before Kaiba could think about it much more, the doctor had entered the room with quite a few nurses.

"We'll take it from here, Mr. Kaiba." The doctor began checking Anzu's vital signs as Kaiba left the room. He stood in the doorway, waiting on what he would be told.

The doctor hooked some machines up to Anzu, rebandaged her injuries, and then left the room. He approached Kaiba. "She will be fine, eventually. Her more serious injuries just reopened; she should be stable soon."

Kaiba tried not to look too realived. "However, the stress is not good for her heart. Her parents informed me she had had some problems in the past. She is fine for now, but if she is continually stressed like this, it could cause her heart to stop."

This information stunned Kaiba. All this time she had known stress wasn't good for her and still agreed to meet with that bastard. He planned to have a serious conversation with her as soon as she regained consciousness, but his anger and questioning mood faded as soon as he saw her face. She was a bit paler than normal, but otherwise looked as if she was sleeping. Still, Kaiba just wanted her to open her beautiful blue eyes and say something, anything to him. He had a sudden desire to hold her hand and, impulsively, did just that.

He noticed the time was drawing close for his brother to come back home. He had been at a friend's house and didn't want Mokuba to freak over Anzu's unconsciousness. He let go of her hand and walked out of the room with one last look at her.

_What the hell_, he thought while he was in his office typing up a finance report for KaibaCorp. He knew that he cared for Anzu, but was very uneasy about his exact feelings. His entire life he had been taught never to trust or care for anyone. His brother was the only exception for him and frankly, these new feelings frightened him. He finally decided he thought of Anzu as a …friend, but knew he wouldn't tell her that, unless the situation was appropriate. Kaiba figured he would never tell her. _I'm not going soft, but I refuse to let that mutt within talking distance of her. _

A/N: Yay! Super long chapter. Review and whatnot¸ whether it's good or bad. I terribly need a beta because I fear there are many mistakes that I overlook. Check my profile for more information on this story or if you have any questions, feel free to ask!


	7. Aftermath

Anzu opened her eyes, feeling rather weak. She tried to sit up but realized machines were blocking her from doing so. The girl panicked slightly until she realized that there was a button nearby; she pressed it. Kaiba came in the room within minutes.

He didn't even try to conceal his worry. "Anzu, how are you feeling?" He sat down softly on the bed so as not to hurt her. She removed the oxygen mask, "Can I speak with one of your doctors?"

A bit put out that she didn't seem interested in speaking with him, Kaiba conceded.

The doctors left shortly upon removing all of the medical equipment. "She's fine now, Kaiba-san. I assure you." The head doctor whispered sideways to Kaiba before leaving the manor.

Tea was now sitting up in the bed with her legs hanging off. He felt so much better now that he could tell she was in no serious danger. Unfortunately, he would have to confront the carefree girl about the previous day's events.

"Anzu, why didn't you inform me of your illness?" He didn't beat around the bush at all. She was startled that he would even ask. "I didn't think it was important. Have my parents' called? I was supposed to go home yesterday."

"I informed them of the changes in your condition and you are free to go home when you wish. But you must be more careful. Putting yourself in such a high stress situation for that dog was idiotic." Anzu would have snapped at Kaiba for being so rude towards Jou, especially after his heartfelt apology, but she noticed the geniuine concern in his eyes and decided to try something.

"Why does that bother you? Are you worried about me?" She asked innocently, hoping he wouldn't close up again and walk out.

Kaiba blanched a bit, but took a deep breath to whisper, "How could I not be? You passed out suddenly. Anyone would be worried." She continued, "Because you're Seto Kaiba, cold, calculating, and self-reliant and I'm Anzu Mazaki bubbly, optimistic, and occasionally annoying." _There she goes with that smile again _Kaiba thought to himself as his heart did a little flip in his chest.

"You don't annoy me. Not anymore. I rather enjoy your company, actually." Kaiba's deep blue eyes met Anzu's brighter blue ones. "In fact if you're feeling up to it, we can go on our outing now."

Anzu was bursting with happiness and something else. "I feel fine! When are we going?" She looked a bit sheepish, but it her excitement was understandable considering she had been inside, virtually bedridden for about a week.

He allowed her to get ready and then returned, leading the way out of the rather confusing maze that was the mansion. It was very sunny outside and Tea squinted a little. When her vision adjusted, she let out an awe of amazement, "The grounds are so beautiful Kaiba." He smirked, "This isn't even the best part." The two were walking side by side and their hands brushed both were embarrassed and refused to acknowledge it.

He stopped in a grassy area with perfectly manicured hedges and an enormous fountain that Anzu was completely enamored by. He motioned for her to sit down. The two talked easily for what felt like an hour but was in actuality several hours. By the time the two were on their way back to the manor, it was quite dark outside. Anzu kept stumbling on stones, even on the pathway, so Kaiba swept her up and began to carry her bridal style against her protests.

Anzu soon stopped struggling because she really didn't mind being this close to the CEO, in fact, she really enjoyed it. "So did you enjoy the gardens?" He asked, while she tried not to blush because he was still carrying her. "They're great!" She smiled widely, "but I enjoyed just getting to spend time with you and getting to know you better." Even in the darkness, Kaiba could see Anzu's eyes and the outline of her face.

"Thanks, Seto." She then pecked him quickly on the cheek. His entire body had stiffened, but he felt his face heating up. Fortunately for the two of them they had just gotten back to the manor because it was quickly becoming very awkward. He walked with her to her room and then as she was about to close the door, he stopped her and, bending down deliberately kissed her on the lips. His heart was beating so fast he thought it would explode. Her lips felt so soft. He went to pull away but she had wrapped her arms around his neck and was kissing him back. No tongue was involved, but when the two ended the kiss, they were both out of breath and flushed. He wrapped his arms loosely around her, holding her to his chest. Anzu was sufficiently red now; and the feeling of his toned chest and his heart beating rapidly against her was only making her face turn redder.

"…" Anzu wanted to say something to diffuse the awkwardness. She knew how Kaiba was about physical contact and he just kissed her out of the blue?

Kaiba smirked gently and looked at her. "I hope that I didn't...overstep any boundaries." He looked unsure of himself for a change. Anzu decided she liked this side of him.

"No, she said waving her hands animatedly, "I mean, if you don't mind me asking why did you kiss me?" "not that I'm complaining." She mumbled quietly but not so low that he couldn't hear her.

"Because I consider you a…friend and I felt like I should kiss you." Kaiba's eye contact was intense.

Anzu blushed again, "I'm glad you can finally call me your friend Seto." She smiled widely, deciding not to discuss the kiss any more than he chose to.

Kaiba hugged her and left her to go to sleep.

After all, she was pretty sure this emotional experience was new for him and even if it never happened again Anzu was glad she got to see the almost unhidden emotion of worry and hint of happiness on his face before she passed out *the worry* and after the kiss *happiness.

_Maybe Yugi and the others were always wrong about him. He's not ice; he just needs someone who is willing to put up with a little coldness to find the true Seto._

A/N: So the kiss scene! Yay! Tell me what you think, hope you liked it.


	8. What an Anticlimactic Goodbye

A/N: I know, I know, on to the story.

Disclaimer: If it sounds remotely familiar, I don't own it.

Anzu had woken up that morning with a dreary outlook on life. She was fully recovered and her parents were getting antsy for her to come back home. She missed them, but she would really miss the friendship that had developed between her and Seto. She was confident that now, it would slowly be forgotten.

"Anzu, your parents will be here in a few minutes. They just called." Seto was standing at the door as Anzu was finishing packing her things. She wanted to ask him a lot of questions: where does that leave us? Can we still hang out? But she refrained from voicing her concerns.

She went to sit down beside Seto who was typing quickly on his laptop. A steaming cup of coffee sat beside him on the expensive oaken table. She glanced at his face briefly, noticing how tired he looked. "Seto, are you alright?" She bit her tongue after asking this when he glanced up sharply. When was disturbing his work ever a good idea? Nice going Anzu.

Seto attempted to soften what he knew was a coarse expression. "I'm fine, just working." He made eye contact very briefly then turned back to working on what looked to be a complicated graph of some sorts. Just thinking about economics and running a company made Anzu's head spin.

No one spoke for a few breaths. "Where's Mokuba today?"

"School. It is a school day after all." Seto responded automatically. He didn't even hesitate from his work.

Anzu was getting a little irritated now, it was minutes from her departure and THE almighty Kaiba (who she had begun to see as a human being) couldn't seem to care less.

"Well, I guess that's that." Anzu said, doing her best to clear her voice of all emotion. "Thank you for allowing me to stay in your mansion and pretending to care."

It took just a moment for what she had said to register but when it did Seto was none too amused. "What's your problem, Mazaki? "Pretending to care?"

"Oh, it's nothing, no need to worry yourself over it." Anzu replied in a dull tone, not even looking at him. What was his problem today? Where had the kind, sweet, Seto who could be more than a friend gone?

Before Seto just seemed weary and irritable, now he was getting pissed. "You're interrupting me from checking NASDAQ ratings and planning Kaibacorp's fiscal yearly budget, you damn well better tell me so I can "worry" about it."

Seto sharply clacked his laptop shut and stared intently, albeit a bit angrily at Anzu.

The doorball rang, disturbing their staredown.

In walked Mr. and Mrs. Mazaki. "Anzu, honey it's so good to see you and thank you Mr. Kaiba for taking such good care of our daughter." They both embraced her. Her dad grabbed her bag with her belongings and hurried to the care. Her mother pushed Anzu hurriedly out the door without another word.

As the door slammed shut and Seto walked back to his work area, he kept trying to force himself not to feel weird about her leaving. There was no way he missed her, no way in hell. He busied himself with his work. I'm Seto Kaiba he thought to himself there's no way I have time to worry about such an insignificant thing as a girl who is nothing but a friend leaving. He decided he might be crazy, because he was starting to wonder if he thought of her as more than a friend.

Before he could entertain the idea though, a dark thought invaded his memory. "Seto, you'll never amount to anything. You're just a sniveling coward. Only by destroying your attachment to others will you be able to do anything useful. You're intelligent sure, but that alone is not enough." Seto was caught in the middle of a flashback of Gozaburo Kaiba lecturing him while he was beating him with a fresh, new leather belt. Before the beating commenced too far, Seto snapped himself out of it, drank some more coffee, and decided not to think about Anzu Mazaki again.

Meanwhile, Anzu was getting back home, enjoying a nice, quiet dinner with her parents. Her mother, Miya was being chatty as usual. Her father, Takuma smiled slightly and nodded. He never said too much, but his behavior indicated his contentness. Anzu was glad to be back home, but she knew she would miss Seto. Whatever had happened before she had left needed to be fixed. She checked her cell phone to ensure she still had his number. I'll call him in a few days then, just to hang out as friends. Anzu knew she was lying to herself, but she was good at that.

"We lost Jounouchi, Honda-kun" Chou nearly purred as she pressed herself up against Honda. Honda was really enjoying himself, but he decided he would at least try to voice his concerns.

"Chou, maybe this is a bad idea. You know I'm not as strong as him and I don't know if you and your people are good enough for this."

Without ceasing her grinding, Chou slapped Honda with medium strength, not hard enough to leave a mark, but painful nonetheless.

"Shut up, idiot. My girls and I are more than good enough. I may look cute and weak, but in reality, I could have killed that Anzu bitch. How dare her threaten my position." A meaner look than normal crossed over Chou's tanned, heavily made up face.

"What are you talking about Chou?" Honda asked genuinely interested and slightly disturbed.

Chou did her best oh my gosh face. "Silly Honda," she rubbed her hand down his leg seductively, "everybody in Domino knows that I've had my eye on two men for as long as they've been famous. Yugi Mouto and Seto Kaiba will both belong to me. Too bad I may have to hurt them too as both seem to prefer that Anzu."

Honda looked terrified. "You want Yugi and Kaiba? Dare I ask what for?"

"Oh don't you worry, Honda. This doesn't change our little arrangement. Too bad Katsuya was too much of wimp to make a similar one; I do love blondes. But you know, Yugi will make a perfect sex slave and Kaiba, oh I can't tell you that just yet, just know I have huge plans for that sexy billionaire." She cackled evily as she began to undress.

Though Honda was efficiently aroused and was going to have sex with Chou as his payment for being her cover boyfriend and "protector", he couldn't help thinking that his messing around with this assassin wouldn't end well. Chou didn't need protection; she was positively lethal. He could even vouch for that.

A/N: Okay, so honestly who didn't see that one coming? :D I sure didn't


	9. Threats and Regrets

Anzu scribbled furiously on her math homework while she was sitting under a tree in a sunny area of the courtyard.

Yugi ate out of a bento box his Grandpa had prepared him. Though things had been awkward for the two at first, the pair had quickly sorted their differences out and were back to being close pals. Anzu still objected to Jounouchi sitting with them, but she at least acknowledged his presence in the hallways. She tried to avoid overexerting herself especially for people like that's sake because of her stress issue.

Yugi decided he would ask Anzu the question he'd been dying to for days now. "Anzu, about what happened between you and Kaiba."

Anzu's heart skipped a beat. Kaiba, she hadn't directly thought of him in a while, or at least she'd forced herself not to think of him. He'd been floating at the back of her mind, she had been tempted to contact him several times over the few short days they'd been apart, but her mind stopped her each time.

He has the number, if he wants to contact me, he can. Also, Kaiba had stopped going to school. Anzu wasn't an idiot. She figured there was another main reason; the side reason was he was avoiding a probable confrontation with the brown haired girl. Somewhere in Anzu's mind, she knew she was going to end up contacting him eventually, only time would tell how long it took.

After school, Yugi had a project to work on, so Anzu insisted she go home alone. Yugi begged her to wait, but she insisted she had an urgent homework assignment. Honestly, Anzu hated lying to her best friend but she needed time to think alone, especially about Kaiba.

On her way home, Anzu was so deeply lost in thought she actually ran into someone. "I'm sorry, sir, I wasn't paying attention." The man turned to her and she drew back slightly in fear. The person she had run into was none other than Hiroto Honda and he did not look friendly in the least.

"Ahhh, Anzu." He grabbed her arm before she could run away. "How are you? Still looking as cute as ever, I see." Honda hated saying this as he didn't find Anzu attractive at all but her breasts, still, Chou had insisted he fool her and subdue her by any means necessary.

"What do you want, Honda?" Anzu asked trying to keep her voice even when in reality she was getting scared.

"Nothing much, just want to show you how sorry I am. You like dancing right? There's a great dance club a short walk from here, I'll take you there." He lied easily. For him, Chou was the ultimate prize, he'd do anything for her.

Anzu felt slightly nauseous as she responded, "It's fine Honda. But can we do this another time, I have a lot of studying to do."

"No. Honda said, this is more important, you are more important."

Anzu didn't trust him as far as she could throw him, but followed him anyway as she could tell he wasn't taking no for an answer.

He eventually lead her down a dark alley, "Oh no, Honda what are you doing?"

"I'm here Chou. She's all yours."

He pushed her into the alley. "Too easy." Chou said laughing viciously as she came out of the shadows.

Anzu allowed Chou to tie her up as Chou had a knife and what was probably a firearm protruding from her back pocket. "Leave us, Hiroto-kun." She flirted and he complied easily.

"Listen to me, Mazaki." Chou said roughly, "if you leave Seto-kun alone there'll be no more trouble from me, listen, we could even be friends."

Anzu felt her heart racing painfully. Not only was this bad for her heart, this could get so much worse so much more quickly. Chou was a mastermind to get her completely alone in such a bad position in broad daylight like that. There was no telling what she was capable of.

"Oh, Chou, you are mistaken. Kaiba-san and I are not anything. He cared for me when you, errr, I was injured nothing more." Anzu hoped she didn't know more than that.

"I want to believe this Mazaki, I really do, but if you don't stay away from him, I'll take advantage of your heart condition. And Seto-kun won't be off the hook either, I just might have to mess up his pretty little face." She made a disgusting gesture with the knife in her hand to emphasize her point.

Anzu felt her heart skipping beats, crap not now.

Chou looked at her centimeters from her face, "Promise on his life, Mazaki. Oh, and yours as well, pretty much."

"I'll stay away from him; he's yours Chou."

"Okay " Chou grinned cutely, a far cry from her previous evil expression. "Thank you, Mazaki; I knew you'd understand my love for Seto-kun." She quickly untied her as Anzu began clutching her chest.

"Oh, was that too much for you, Mazaki?" "Hmm, better call someone to help you, I'm not being held responsible." And with that Chou was gone.

Anzu had just enough time to call the first person in her contacts before her heart gave a harsh spasm causing her to pass out.

Kaiba had been on his way back to the manor from his office when his phone rang unexpectedly. Ugh, what is it now? I've been at this place since 3AM working out other people's incompetence. He answered without looking at the name. "Hello?" There was no response on the other line.

Damn a prank caller, he just happened to glance at the name and saw Anzu. Kaiba instantly tried to call her back and when she didn't answer he hit a few buttons and began tracking her phone signal which picked up 2 blocks from where he was. When he got there, he noticed her laying down passed out.

He rushed over towards her, calling her name, "Anzu, Anzu wake up." He checked her pulse, noticing her heart beat was very irregular. He picked her up in his arms and called the doctors at the manor, "Be ready."

The doctors worked on her quickly while Kaiba waited outside. "And?" He asked gruffly.

"Kaiba-sama, we warned you of her condition. I'm afraid it's worsened and caused some damage to her heart. She will probably have severe palpitations until her body adjusts to this medication and I repeat with all due respect Sir, there is a high chance of death if this happens again."

"Damn it. And just what do you suppose happened?!"

"We believe, due to the marks on her arms and the extremely elevated heart rate required in victims of this condition to do this damage that she was being held against her will, possibly kidnapped or threatened. We will need to ask her to confirm anything however. That must wait at least a week."

"Okay, you are dismissed." Kaiba dismissed all of the doctors and went and sat in Anzu's room. Thinking to himself, Damn it, who is messing with her now? He was more angry at himself for distancing himself from her than for her putting herself in a compromising position.

All he could do now was wait for her to awaken


	10. Convoluted Turn of Events

A/N: I know. Some of you may not be too happy with this chapter and I know I said I was using Chou temporarily, but my muse had other plans. Nonetheless, Enjoy!

Sunlight streamed in through the window as Kaiba sat watching Tea's pale face. The way her medium length brown hair framed her face was breathtaking. She was beautiful and he really couldn't deny it any longer. He was angry at the Chou bitch for injuring his Tea, always so caring and genuine in her feelings and behavior towards others. What had she done to deserve this? Not a damn thing, he decided, his fist gripped tightly. Wait, his Tea. This was dangerous. He was doing the very thing that Gozaburo had forced him never to do and, on top of that, he himself had sworn to never do. Too many people got hurt around him anyway.

He was growing attached to someone other than Mokuba. He had grown used to protecting Mokuba, but involving someone else was preposterous. And unfortunately for him this person was Tea and seemed to have a knack for putting herself in dangerous situations, not to mention being kind, caring, and simply a joy to be around. What? This gave him an interesting rush of emotion. He was frightened, not that he'd ever admit it, but he was also slightly happy. While he was busy having this internal conflict; he briefly glanced at Tea, realizing her eyes were open and she was staring at him intensely.

"Kaiba," she said simply. Why was she not referring to him as Seto? Before she had always tried to be friendly no matter what Kaiba's behavior. Now it was like she was the one rebuilding the wall between them.

Kaiba looked at her intently and shook his head responding simply with, "I told you not to go anywhere with those people. You knew the dangers and yet you still naively believed that there was not an ultierior motive for Hiroto's actions. You disappoint me, Gardner." He decided against using her first name as she had re-established the wall the two had both tried to tear down.

She had to try to protect him, no matter how tough he looked he was vulnerable. And something told her Chou's threat was anything but empty. She had to act like she didn't care about him, in case he actually cared about her and would try to enact revenge on Chou.

Just the thought of the bleach blonde haired girl's expression chilled Tea to the bone. "If I can't have him, no one will. And resistance is futile, weak little girl. Seto better hope he doesn't resist too much either, or I'll have to break his pretty little neck." Her deranged laughter haunted Tea's dreams. The girl wasn't just a snobby scorned fangirl, she was mentally unstable and every bit as deadly as she was insane. Even if she herself didn't attack Set- Kaiba, she mentally corrected herself, she could easily manipulate strong idiots like Honda into doing her dirty work for her.

Kaiba glared lightly at her as she tried to hide the fact that she could see the pain clear in his eyes. "Kaiba, she addressed him, "though I am very thankful you saved my life, I don't think, think we should be friends anymore." A small flash of pain was apparent in Kaiba's expression, but he said evenly, "Leave whenever you are ready, you won't see me again during your stay." And walked promptly out the door.

Tea looked down and began to cry silently to herself. She couldn't believe it and right when she had begun to have feelings for him too. This broke her heart, but she was sure that nothing good would come of it. He was too worried about her to focus on his and Mokuba's safety, especially considering he had pretty much dismissed Chou as not much of a threat at all.

Yugi and his friend Jou came to visit her later in the week. The spiky haired teen ran his fingers through his in an embarrassed fashion, "Tea, how are you doing?" She nodded. "I'm okay, ready to be out of here." Yugi detected a shakiness in her voice, so he requested Jou leave to get some coffee as he sat down at the girl he found so beautiful's bedside.

No, Yugi thought firmly. Tea is my best friend and I'm not letting her leave until I figure out what is wrong with her, romantic inclinations be damned. "What's really wrong?" The shorter boy had leaned against her as she sat on the bed bed and was speaking barely above a whisper. Tea was beside herself about the whole situation. She suddenly grasped Yugi's arm and pulled him as close to her as possible. Their faces were touching as she whispered into his ear, "Kaiba and I, we're not friends anymore." Yugi faced her and quickly hugged her tightly, trying hard not to blush at the thin gown she was wearing. "I'm so sorry, Tea. If you want to talk about it, I'm here, otherwise, I hope things work out." Yugi was inwardly angry at Kaiba for abusing Tea's trust and taking advantage of her trusting nature, because he was automatically assuming this is what had happened. "You deserve better." Yugi said making strong eye contact. Tea smiled faintly, "It was my fault. I told him we shouldn't be friends because of…" Her voice trailed off as she looked scared.

"You can tell me, Tea. I won't betray you and no one else can hear us." He glanced around and walked around the room carefully, even opening the door to make sure no one was listening. "Fine," Tea responded as she tried to keep her voice and herself calm.  
"Chou threatened his life this last time. Whether he likes it or not, he is hers, she made that blatantly clear when she attacked me. And Honda, oh Honda, he will do whatever she wants, all because of the lure of her sleeping with him. "

"How dangerous do you think she actually is Tea?" Yugi asked, back in best friend mode, "I'm sure Kaiba did as well, but I've been working on finding information on Chou, Nothing's turned up at all."

"That's just it Yugi! Tea was adamant now, "I think Chou's a lot more than just a girl with a grudge, the way she was throwing around the knife and the way I saw her shamelessly manipulate Honda even after she said…" Oh God! Tea clutched her head, she had just now recalled a certain sentence the rude blonde said. "Yugi Mutou and Seto Kaiba."

When Tea opened her eyes that she hadn't realized she had closed, Yugi was right in front of her face. "What did you remember?" She struggled to find her breath, she had never noticed how handsome Yugi had become lately. Where were these thoughts coming from? "She wants you too, Yugi. She has some sort of scheme in mind that involves you and Kaiba. She also mentioned having other "girls"' on her side. Tea continued rubbing her temples. "I should tell Kaiba, even if he is angry with me he has a right to know there's more to the story."

"No!" Yugi turned her to face him more completely. He avoided staring at her breasts as they were very visible in her hospital gown. "Sorry, he added hastily, " I just don't think we should involve Kaiba anymore. He's out of the picture anyway right?" Yugi tried not to show how excited he was that Kaiba was no longer on Tea's radar, he wanted what was best for his friend, but he was certain this wasn't Kaiba.

Tea sniffed, "Yes, but I still want him safe. I would hate it if he got hurt because of me."

Yugi was too caught up in the proximity and how vulnerable Tea looked. He decided it was now or never. He leaned in and kissed her quickly and gently before she had time to react or respond. Tea stared at him speechless. "You're worth getting hurt for Tea and anyone who doesn't agree, doesn't deserve you."

The sound of a drink hitting the floor shocked the both of them out of this very intimate moment, they both turned to see a very embarrassed Jou hastily picking up a coffee from the white tile floor, stuttering out, "I'll see you guys later, kay? Feel better Tea. And, I'm sorry again." Jou was gone.

The two friends looked at each other. "I leave tomorrow." Tea supplied. "Good, we'll see each other then. I'll give you a lift home." Yugi's face was blood-red, he had finally done it, kissed the girl of his dreams. He was still on cloud 9 right now.

He straightened up and said, "We'll talk about the kiss then now, I'll leave you to rest and try to deal with Jounouchi. Bye Tea." He hugged her tightly then left.

What had just happened? Tea was confused and stunned. She hadn't even fully recovered from the blonde's attempts on her life and now a love triangle? It was almost too much to wrap her mind around. She still liked Kaiba, but now they weren't even friends, she had to do what she could to protect him. Unfortunately, it had just resulted in him being angry with her and avoiding her like the plague. Eh, she had asked for it, literally. She wanted to see Kaiba, but this desire conflicted with the desire to keep him safe, safety won out.

The Yugi dilemma irritated her to no avail. Sure, her friend was ridiculously attractive, but she hadn't really noticed, being slightly naïve and much more focused on their friendship to have thoughts of this sort. The kiss. The elephant in the room, well she'd be lying if she said she'd enjoyed it, but she'd also being lying if she said she hadn't. It had been so fast there wasn't much time for her to think about it; she decided she would just talk with Yugi about it tomorrow. The only consolation was she could all but guarantee it wouldn't ruin their friendship either way. What would her situation with Yugi mean for the Chou situation? Would Chou now target her twice as badly? Would she target Yugi too? All this worrying was giving her a headache.

And Chou. What could be her motive? Other than wanting to ravish them, what would she want with two of the most famous and desirable duelists in the world?

Kaiba typed furiously on his laptop. He had just lost his first and only friend. As silly as this sounded, it bothered him. Especially since Tea had the potential to be so much more. His thoughts annoyed him, but he accepted that this was how he truly felt. So why had she acted in such a way? There was more to this and he figured the best way to get information was how he usually did. Get his employees to acquire it for him. Chou Miyasaki, whoever you really are, you are about to face the wrath of Seto Kaiba.

A/N: Starting on the next chapter already guys, don't hate me! P.S. Nothing happened in this chapter that isn't relevant, I promise.


End file.
